Every year, around the holidays, I get extremely emotional and cry at the drop of a hat. No, not because the holidays are a season of love and giving, but because holidays = holiday shopping and holiday shopping fills me with anxiety . . . and tears.
Mind. Blown.
A few weeks ago, … [Read more...]

When I decided to have kids, continuing to work full-time too seemed like a no-brainer. All around me, women were having babies and heading back to work with breast pumps concealed as messenger bags, nursing pads secured in their bras, and nary a postpartum bump in the road. They seemed to have no … [Read more...]

Oh, Thanksgiving, how I love you. I love everything about you. What other holiday allows you to just sit around doing nothing but eating, drinking, and watching football with family and friends? There are no presents to buy or resolutions to be made, and no religion, too. (John Lennon would be … [Read more...]

Here’s something I’ve realized about myself and parenting: Sometimes, I don’t wanna. Which, y’know, is an inconvenient feeling once you’re a parent, because you kinda lose the option. It's at those times a little voice in my head says I should plop the kids in front of a screen and let them "veg" … [Read more...]

This afternoon I sat with my preschooler, helping with her homework. I handed her crayons so she could color in (or, rather, around) some bubble letters and guided her hand over the path the bumble bee took home. It was very relaxing and enjoyable—the way I imagined helping with homework would be … [Read more...]

As a parent, there are many things you expect to be stressful. The sleepless nights, the crying, the tantrums, the costs… I never imagined my kids’s birthday parties would be one of them. Who knew the planning, shopping, spending, hosting and dealing with the aftermath of a child’s birthday party … [Read more...]

Recently, I had the honor to work with my daughter on her science fair project. Wait, did I write honor? I meant, horror. All right, horror is too strong a word, but it was hard!
The project was a diorama of an animal of her choice in its natural habitat. She could’ve picked something fun to … [Read more...]

Once upon a time I had friends without kids. Then they had kids. Then we weren’t friends anymore. This is a true story of what happened when friends’ parenting styles collided.
I was the first of my local friends to have kids, so when they had their own, I imagined our kids growing up together … [Read more...]

The moment I gave birth, my confidence about who I was faltered; everything seemed scary and lonely. I didn’t have friends with kids and I needed some. I needed women who could assure me that someday nursing would get easier, my c-section scar would stop itching, and I would stop crying—because WOW … [Read more...]

A new school year has begun—and while there are some of us parents who want to sing “Celebration,” others among us know the new year brings new worries. So, this year I made a list of things parents should refuse to stress about. You’re welcome.
To PTA or Not to PTA?
By now, you’ve probably … [Read more...]